Stamps head to Ottawa wise in the ways of Grey Cup week
The scene in the Calgary Stampeders locker-room after last year’s Grey Cup is imprinted in Alex Singleton’s brain.
A rookie experiencing his first CFL championship game, the devastation after falling in overtime to the underdog Ottawa Redblacks in Toronto remains fresh in his mind.
“It was the worst feeling ever,” the middle linebacker said Monday. “They set up both lockerrooms to win because it was overtime. I remember the plastic and the tape getting ripped off our lockers.
“The champagne and beer and everything sitting in the middle of the room, we walked in and people were physically sick. I remember people throwing up and you could hear grown men crying. You don’t forget that.”
After losing to Ottawa in Toronto in last year’s Grey Cup, the Stampeders face Toronto in Ottawa on Sunday for the CFL title.
Calgary posted the CFL’s best regular-season record at 13-41, while the Toronto Argonauts topped the East Division at 9-9.
Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson doesn’t want to dwell on last year’s 39-33 loss, but says lessons in how to manage time and energy during a hectic Grey Cup week were learned.
The Stampeders fly to Ottawa today to start the whirlwind.
Press conferences, luncheons, awards, family, friends and fans in what is the CFL’s showcase event place unusual demands on players’ and coaches’ time when they’re also trying to prepare for the game of the year.
“It’s just a crazy week. A fun week,” Dickenson said. “I’d love to be part of it every year, but there’s a lot of things that go on in a Grey Cup week that you’ll never see.
“Let’s focus in on what we can do better. Hopefully we learned a little bit. Hopefully our players learned about how to manage their time.”
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell says he did.
“I’ll probably turn down a couple more media requests this year,” he said. “Stay in my room a little bit more and just kind of focus on the game plan that much more.”
Four Stampeders are finalists for CFL awards Thursday: Singleton (defensive player), Roy Finch (special teams), Marken Michel ( rookie), Dickenson (coach).